Introduction

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

An extraordinary insight into life under one of the world’s most ruthless and secretive dictatorships – and the story of one woman’s terrifying struggle to avoid capture/repatriation and guide her family to freedom.

As a child growing up in North Korea, Hyeonseo Lee was one of millions trapped by a secretive and brutal communist regime. Her home on the border with China gave her some exposure to the world beyond the confines of the Hermit Kingdom and, as the famine of the 1990s struck, she began to wonder, question and to realise that she had been brainwashed her entire life. Given the repression, poverty and starvation she witnessed surely her country could not be, as she had been told “the best on the planet”?

Aged seventeen, she decided to escape North Korea. She could not have imagined that it would be twelve years before she was reunited with her family.

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Discussion Questions

Questions from members (thank you!)

Discuss how Hyeonseo's struggles with identity are connected to her feelings of patriotism.

Explain why a North Korean defector may later feel compelled to return to his or her home country. Use examples from The Girl With Seven Names.

Explain the significance of the book's title. Why do you think the author chose it? Suggest two alternate title possibilities and explain the reasons for your suggestions.


Discuss what you found out about life in North Korea that you didn't suspect before.

What did you think of the "sacred" status of the Kim Il-sung family? Discuss how this is required and enforced.

In North Korea, propaganda is rampant. How is propaganda affecting life in our country today?

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